I probably should have read this instead of listening to it, since I didn’t love the narrator for the audiobook. I kept getting distracted and was uninterested in the story line.

I found this 1940 noir style detective/mystery novel fascinating. It had all the main elements of a noir novel with slight differences. At the end the cops didn't actually arrest and incarcerate Stan, the main character, a down and out drifter with an abusive upbringing by a sadistic father. Stan finally finds a niche in a traveling carnival learning mind reading from a couple who had once been headliners in the big cities before Pete the male clairvoyant became an alcoholic and they lost their status in the big time. One night Stella finally puts Pete on the wagon and he can't stand it and begs Stan to get him something to drink, unfortunately Stan picks a bottle of grain alcohol that Stella and Pete use in their mind reading act and by morning Pete is dead. Stan feels guilty about what happened and decides to run away with "the electric girl" that he is beginning to fall in love with and they end up married and doing the mind reading act together in a big club in Chicago. They become a success and meet up with a well to do psychologist who gets together with Stan and tells him that together with her recorded sessions of wealthy patients and his gift for mind reading they could make a fortune. Stan goes with the idea but eventually they get a patient who wants a full blown apparition of his long dead fiancee. Molly at first refuses to play the dead woman but Stan convinces her that with all that money they will never have to work again and she gives in. When Ezra Grindle, one of the wealthiest men in Chicago who is the patient waiting at his mansion for Stan to come and bring the dead fiancee to life, he is so astounded that he falls to his knees and begins to pray and beg the apparition to forgive him for making her wait so long for them to marry. At that point Molly breaks down and starts crying herself and the jig is up. When they both leave to collect their share of the money the psychologist claims she doesn't know what Stan is talking about and then goes to the patient records room and returns and plays it and the whole record are all the conversations about Stan's childhood, running away from home at 16, joining the carnival and learning mind reading there. Then the his guilt over the accidental murder of Pete and on and on. After realizing he has been cheated and used he runs off and when he is broke becomes an alcoholic and can't even get a job in a carnie, unless the owner tells him the geek's job is open. Stan gives him a half smile and says " Mister I was born for it."

“Nothing matters in this goddamned lunatic asylum of a world but dough.”

William Lindsay Gresham’s powerful, bleak, fate-laden, noir novel Nightmare Alley follows the rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a man whose talents take him to the top of his game, but whose character leads him to destruction. When the novel opens, Stanton is a young carny worker. He works as an assistant to the “seeress” Madame Zeena, and while his questions may seem to reveal naivete, in reality Stanton is absorbing his environment, learning the tricks of the trade, grasping the complexities of human nature. At the carnival, there are some talented performers, others that fill a spot, but perhaps the most perplexing ‘act’ is ‘the Geek,’ in a ten-cent “attraction.” The Geek is touted as a man/beast, and to demo this, he crawls around in a pit and bites the heads off of live chickens. Stanley can’t imagine anyone wanting to be a geek, and wonders how the act is created. The owner, who also is ‘the talker’ (announcing the acts to the gullible marks) explains how geeks are ‘made.’


“You pick up a guy and he ain’t a geek-he’s a drunk. A bottle-a-day booze fool. You tell him like this: ‘I got a little job for you. It’s a temporary job. We got to get a new geek. So until we do you’ll put on the geek outfit and fake it.‘ You tell him, ‘You don’t have to do nothing. You’ll have a razor blade in your hand and when you pick up the chicken you give it a nick with the blade and then make like you’re drinking the blood. Same with rats. The marks don’t know no different.‘”

Hoately ran his eye up and down the midway, sizing up the crowd. He turned back to Stan. “Well, he does this for a week and you see to it that he gets his bottle regular and a place to sleep it off in. He likes this fine. This is what he thinks is heaven. So after a week you say to him like this, you say, ‘Well, I got to get me a real geek. You’re through.’ He scares up at this because nothing scares a real rummy like the chance of a dry spell and getting the horrors. He says, ‘What’s the matter? Ain’t I doing okay?’ So you say, ‘Like crap you’re doing okay. You can’t draw no crowd faking a geek. Turn in your outfit. You’re through.’ Then you walk away. He comes following you, begging for another chance and you say, ‘Okay. But after tonight out you go.’ But you give him his bottle.

That night you drag out the lecture and lay it on thick. All the while you’re talking he’s thinking about sobering up and getting the crawling shakes. You give him time to think it over, while you’re talking. Then throw in the chicken. He’ll geek.“

This early powerful scene is emblematic of the entire plot: degradation is a process in a world in which nothing is what it seems; discover a person’s weakness and you have power over them.

“Human nature is the same everywhere. All have the same troubles. They are worried. Can control anybody by finding out what he’s afraid of. Works with question-answering act. Think out things most people are afraid of and hit them right where they live. Health, Wealth, Love. And Travel and Success. They’re all afraid of ill health, of poverty, of boredom, of failure. Fear is the key to human nature. They’re afraid. …”

Stan looked up past the pages to the garish wallpaper and through it into the world. The geek was made by fear. He was afraid of sobering up and getting the horrors. But what made him a drunk? Fear. Find out what they’re afraid of and sell it back to them. That’s the key. The key!

Madam Zeena, is a good-hearted married woman, who sticks by her drunken sot of a husband, but she’s happy to have young Stanton on the side. The problem is that Stanton, true to his nature, isn’t happy with these occasional trysts. He wants Zeena all the time, and so a maneuver by Stanton leaves Zeena a widow. This is the first awful act that Stanton commits, and while he’s afraid his actions will be discovered, he justifies himself. Yet now that Stanton has Zeena full-time, he casts his eyes on younger prey, and moves on young, malleable Molly, a sort of orphaned carny mascot whose freak show act as Electric Girl involves her, barely dressed, receiving electric shocks.

Stanton’s character, horribly flawed and twisted, is revealed throughout the novel in his subsequent actions and decisions. He steals, he manipulates, he defrauds, and he murders. He’s a terrible person, but yet not wholly unsympathetic. (I counted the decent things he did.) He’s damaged and haunted by his childhood and plagued by nightmares. Life is a Nightmare Alley, we are all pursued by our demons. Ever since he was a kid Stan had a recurring nightmare:

He was running down a dark alley, the buildings vacant and menacing on either side. Far down at the end of it a light burned, but there was something behind him, getting closer until he woke up trembling and never reached the light.

The novel follows Stanton on his path to success. From the carnival’s sideshows, he moves onto mentalism, and then he morphs into the Reverend Carlisle–seeped in spiritualism, he’s ready to conjure up the dead for the grieving wealthy. But Stanton, never satisfied, is restless for more. Stan’s demons both drive him and haunt him throughout the book, yet when he confronts them, he’s so traumatized by the experience, he, in his weakness, seeks out the professional help of succubus Dr. Lilith Ritter.

The 1930s world of Nightmare Alley is a ugly place: as the title implies, it’s a nightmarish place–beginning with the carnival that exploits its employees and its audience, but the real nightmare here is life and human nature. With most of the characters in the book, human flaws gnaw from within. Stanton brings on his own downfall, and it’s inevitable.

The novel, structured in chapters which are represented by Tarot cards, was slow to start. This novel was banned and its sexual frankness and ugly view of the world is shocking for its times. Unforgettable.

“The rest of them drink something else: they drink promises. They drink hope. And I’ve got it to hand them.”

After reading this, I listened to the audiobook version which is marvelously read by Peter Berkrot

Own a copy/review copy

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really not my cup of tea, boring, confusing, would have probably been better and less confusing reading the print version rather than listening to it

Goddamn. This is a book.
It reads like a lot of 40's noir which I love but stranger and weirder and contemporary as all hell. It's a well structured story and I appreciated the tarot heading up each chapter.
The narrator was mostly fantastic though his rendering of women's voices was a little much.

I was drawn to this book because I heard that Guillermo del Toro is working on producing a movie from it. In addition, to the fact that it sounded dark. I like dark stories. Sadly, this book did not do it for me. It was partly a little of both...narrator and author. The narrator tried some but did not really make the characters come alive. It was like he was just reading the story out loud.

Which, I think the story could have something there. Well it obviously does if Guillermo del Toro is producing a movie from this book. I just was not feeling it. I would be listening to the story and then realize that I was many chapter forward or something would catch my attention and I would have to back up again. This happened a lot.

I do look forward to seeing Guillermo del Toro's vision play out in the movie version of this book.

I think if I had read this book instead of listened to it, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. Some books just have too many details for me to see it in my mind without actually reading the words. The narrator is fantastic and the idea of the story is great, but I found it hard for me to remain focused. Once I found out this would be adapted, with quite a good cast, it helped keep my attention a bit more, but I still think there are too many details and I wish I had read it first instead.

What a treat for film noir and lit noir fans! First off, I should say I am a big film noir fan and this is one of my very favorite old film noir movies. I first saw it at Noir City introduced by the Czar of Noir, Eddie Mueller (more on him in my next review!) and was blown away by the gritty plot in the carnival atmosphere. I recommend this old movie to fans of noir and camp. It’s kind of obscure though, so I was surprised and delighted to see this offering as an audiobook on NetGalley as I had never read the book.

It did not disappoint! First of all, the narrator is great, bringing you back to the 50s without being overly kitschy or stylized. And the book itself is fantastic. I mean, this is a book about swindlers, carnies and murder in a carnival atmosphere. It also explains things how the “geek” who bites the heads of chickens in the freak show is born. If you like twisted fare and noir period pieces, this one is for you. If you aren’t into stuff that’s truly weird and dark, you should take a pass on this one.

And by the way, Guillermo del Toro is remaking this movie with Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe and Cate Blanchett, so if you want to get a jump on this freaky story, this audiobook is a great place to start.

Many thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalkey for this awesome advance listen.

I had absolutely no idea that this novel was first Publisher in 1946! I honestly feel great about the fact that I've just read a classic and felt as though it was a contemporary noir mystery.

The story itself is clever, dark and eerie; starting is a freak show, the reader is transported to the world of Stan - an ambitious man who's utterly disappointed with where he's at with his career and life, doing pretty drastic things to change his situation.

This was WEIRD! Nightmare Alley is definitely a unique choice for me, and although I wasn't sure whether I loved it or not, it was certainly an experience I was looking for to diversify my reading.

My experience was definitely enhanced by the narration, so if you're interested in this title, I would definitely recommend the audiobook. It's a voice perfectly suited for this type of a dark novel, making it even more chilly - and highly engaging with each character being portrayed in a unique way.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone dreams of running away with the circus, or living the exciting life of a carny. Stan wanted more the the dream, he wanted the fame and fortune. Knowing a little magic leads Stan to becoming a mentalist, a seer.
The art of telling the future is the oldest con in the book. It can be the perfect payout with the right mark. Stan just needs to find the right person, and play the long con. But how long can he live the lie until it consumes him?

I wanted to read this book purely because I had heard that Guillermo del Toro is turning it into a film. And let's face it, del Toro is the master of dark film. So I thought I'd get the book read before I saw the film, brilliant planning with a head start.
Listening to the audiobook I instantly felt like it needed to be a movie. The audiobook does not do the book justice. One narrator for several characters, who really only had a few voices in his capability, didn't work. Music to segway between chapters would be amazing.
The story itself is good. I love stories of old circus or carnival acts. American Horror Story did it the best with Freak Show. I wanted this book to be like that. Its set in the right time, with a strong cast, but didn't grip me with anything thrilling. It was all about the con, the smoke and mirrors of the act. I wanted more, a darker story. I hope the movie makes that happen.

So I debated on whether or not to request this book. It sounded intriguing and it was different from what I'd normally listen to. However, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not entirely convinced that was the book's fault since I hesitated to listen in the first place, so I'm giving it an average review to be fair. I prefer more fast-paced, suspense-driven audiobooks and this was too slow for me even though it started out promisingly enough. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a chance to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I do not like giving bad reviews but this book and I didn't click. Maybe it is the way it was narrated? I had to restart a few times just to get into the story and then I would rewind and eventually I just gave up. It is probably just me.

Sprawling. That is the word that describes how I felt listening to this book. The life of those trying to take advantage of the rubes shouldn’t be that. However, it was.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. Noir style at its finest. Interesting and wee developed characters and a gritty, dark and descriptive location.

Closer to a 3.5 star rating!!! I was super interesting in the book in the beginning with the description of the freak show, but the book started to lose my interest around halfway though. I enjoyed the main character and the carnival but the mystery fell really flat for me.

The narrator for this audiobook did an amazing job! He changed his voice for every character and it never sounded weird or annoying and they were all different enough from each other that I was never confused.